Naivete in Denial
by Anacaria
Summary: Post D-2. Frantz has disappeared in the Catwalks and after he's brought back, things won't be the same.
1. Catwalks

**Author's Note**: I don't own any of the characters. This is for the sole purpose of entertainment.

**Naivete in Denial**

Three days. It had been three days since Frantz had disappeared inside the Catwalks. Angela's eyebrows knitted together in frustration as she cleaved another Nomi Lion in half. Tude was up ahead clearing out the stupid clowns that she hated. Scratch that, she hated this entire place.

"Hey shorty, what's on your mind?" Tude slammed the last of the Noblemen against the ground, splitting the marionette's skull in half. "Still worried about the bloodsucker?"

She blinked, "N-no…what makes you think that?" She adverted her gaze, opting to stare at her magic sword instead. "Was just thinking what use is it to bring Gina the noblewomen's fans for?"

"Well…" Tude pondered this for a second, his face scrunching up. He chuckled, "You know, that's a good question." With a dismissing wave, he turned back just in time to backhand a Knight. "Attacking from the back? Have you no shame?"

A few more moments of silence followed, aside from the occasional ticking of the pendulums. Angela just kept checking Gaestra and Tude inspected his gauntlet. It itched something terrible, but he could easily ignore it. After one more casual glance at the red-head, the blonde yawned. "Well, sitting here doing nothing won't help us find him. Come on, shorty." He easily dodged the magic missiles that Angela had conjured.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

* * *

Frantz groaned. _Where…am I?_ He remembered a hallway, an encounter with Fluffy, Angela yelling at him and then… "Ame…li…a…"  
"You shouldn't move," a familiar voice caused him to look up. Or attempt to look up. His vision swam into focus, until at last he could make out the figure staring down at him with disdain.

"Amelia!" He struggled to stand but his legs refused to cooperate. He coughed, "Why are y-?"

"Why did you come here?" Amelia crossed her legs and glowered at her once-lover. "Why did you, Frantz?" Her voice sounded so cold, and he visibly shuddered. "Did you think returning my blood would change me back?"

"I…"

"Don't move, you've lost a lot of blood," she smiled. Frantz had never seen her smile like that. It was a resentful smile, with small traces of sadness. "Maybe this will clear mine out." A sound made her look away from him, towards the door. "This is the last…" and with that she slipped away.

* * *

He could hear running footsteps. Someone was calling his name. However Frantz Kruger was oblivious as his silver eyes slid close and he fell into the darkness.

"Sshh, I hear something!" Tude said, clamping his gauntleted hand over Angela's mouth. She glared at him before ducking underneath his arm and running straight through the doorway.

"Frantz! FRANTZ!" she cried out. She managed to trip over one of the curtains, sending her sprawling to the ground. Not two feet from her was the man she had been looking for. A man who was lying in a large pool of blood. _His blood._

Cursing, she disentangled herself and carefully made her way over to her friend. "Wake up! Frantz! Please!" She could feel the tears pouring down her cheeks. "Wake up…please…oh god Frantz!"  
"Angela!" Tude ran in after her, his eyes scanning the otherwise empty room before settling on the pair near one of the dressing tables. "Oh…fuck." He walked towards her, reaching his hand out to grasp her shoulder.

She was vaguely aware of the gesture but _oh god there was so much blood. __**He wasn't opening his eyes.**__ And the blood and…and…_

"…-gela. _Angela_!" Tude's voice finally reached her. She mutely turned her face towards him, not caring that he could see her crying. "We have to get him out of here. Come on!" His strong hands first pulled her up, away from Frantz before he bent back down to pick him up.

"Is…is he going to be ok?" she asked, her fingers burying themselves into the hem of her skirt. Tude said nothing, just gave her a small nod before they both sprinted to the exit.

* * *

_The thundering sound of hooves_

_A scream_

_And then blood. There was blood everywhere_

_His desperate need to find out  
_

…_pleasedon'tletitbeherpleasedon'tletitbeher…._

"…-od thing you brought him here. Any longer and he would have bled to death," someone says. Frantz can't really tell who it is. Everything is fuzzy. _Throat burning. Thirst._

"Tude! His hands twitched!" a young voice. _Is that Angela?_ She sounds more child-like than ever. Frantz groaned and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the wooden ceiling of the barracks. The second was Tude giving him a wary smile. Finally, his silver eyes came to rest on Angela. She was kneeling on the ground on the left side of his bed, one of her hands clutching his own. _It's warm…_  
"Hey there, kid." Frantz manages out in a cracked voice. "Wh-" he coughed a little, earning an even more concerned look from her. He tried again, "Why so sad?"

She opens her mouth, the closes it, a frown etching itself on her face. "You're so stupid. Letting a _mutt_ like that smack you so easily? You aren't as tough as you said you were." It's adorable how her lips pout while she's giving him the 'Stink Eye'.

"Even tough guys have their days, shorty," Tude laughs, slapping Frantz hard on the back, causing him to flinch. "Though have to say, man. You look like shit."

"A hit like that and all that blood loss, _of course_ he's seen better days." The nurse who came in frowns and quickly places a thermometer in Frantz's mouth. "Ms. Rose will be tending to your wounds in a moment." She then turns to Angela and Tude. "Which means you'll both have to step out."

* * *

"Well at least he's ok," Tude said, leaning against a fence post. "Stop making that face, Angie. Your eyes will get stuck that way."

"I'm NOT making a face!" she protested, crossing her arms. Tude snorted, which annoyed her further. "Rose is with him so…" her voice trailed off and she instantly shut her mouth. "It's her. _Always her._ How _miserable_ does he have to be until she's finally satisfied?!" Turning away from Tude she stomped off towards the camp, leaving the blonde thinking. _What the fuck just happened?_

3


	2. Carmine

Carmine

"…and that's why I can't believe how big of an idiot he's become," Angela sighed, and went back to playing with her bangs. She missed her black hair but red wasn't that much of an unfair trade-off for fusing her soul to Gaestra.

Gina processed all this while she made another stitch on Angela's skirt. "Most men are like that when it comes to women they love." She put her needle down. "So it's about Amelia?"

Angela flinched at the name before scowling. "I knew he joined the Golden Seal Team to find her but…" She thought back to the three of them joking around in Commander Kate's office about making a parody to 'Who Let the Dogs Out'. And Frantz taking up a job as a lumberjack and…and… "She's hurt him so much even though he loves her."

"Sounds like you're jealous," Tude said as he came to sit beside her. He gave Gina a warm smile, which she promptly returned, albeit a bit embarrassed before she ducked back under the makeshift tarp-door to her (temporary!) business.

"Jealous?! Who is jealous of that boob-centric bitch?!" Angela's ears turned as red as her hair. Tude smirked, _Gotcha._

"Ok, so you're not. Then you're fine with leaving Frantz the way he is." He scratched his temple, watching his friend's face. It was amusing to say the least. "I talked to Rose before coming here. He's all right for the time being. A bit of blood and he should recover."

Angela made a face, "Sometimes it's easy to forget he's a vampire…not once has he even mentioned wanting to drink any."

"Yeah, but I can understand why." She looked at him with a questioning glance. "Think about it, if he's half-vampire, then drinking blood while he's still half-human would not be appetizing. The human side would reject it. Understand now?"

"Yes..." again her fingers toyed with her skirt. "He told me that if he becomes a full vampire...that I should be the one to stab him." Burying her face into her hands she sighed. "I don't think I'd be able to. He's my friend..."

"I think that's why he asked you. He'd rather die under kindness than hate."

"Killing him out of _kindness_? No, I _refuse."_

* * *

On the other side of the camp, Natasha sighed when she stepped out of the entrance to the Curtis Castle's Ramparts. Another search for 'Fluffy' had been ordered by Elma, but had turned up nothing. Just what the reports had already found: A demolished hallway and a small bit of Frantz's blood, presumably from where the bone-beast had struck him. "Well, guess I should go back to Elma." Stretching lazily, she made her way down the path, pausing when she saw a familiar pair of faces talking in front of Gina's (temporary!) business tent. "Angela! Tude!"

Only Tude waved back. "Hey there Tasha. Shorty over here is feeling down."

Natasha blinked. "What? Little Ms. Loud Mouth here is feeling down?" She sat down with them and looked around. "So, did you guys find Frantz?"

Angela nodded, "He's…out of it." With an exasperated sigh, she got up, hoisting Gaestra up to her shoulder. "I'm going for a walk." When Tude got up to follow her, she planted her sword in front of him, creating a sizeable hole in the ground. "_Don't follow me._"

As she stalked off, Natasha turned toward Tude, "So what's got her bloomers in a twist?"

* * *

Frantz stared up at the ceiling, his mind lost in his own musings; Amelia, her words, Angela, and his _burning throat_. It didn't matter how much water he had asked for and drank. There was no way to quench his thirst. While Rose had taken his vitals, he could not take his eyes off her neck.

_How easy it would be to sink his fangs in and…_

No! What was he thinking?! He'd been able to control his bloodlust for so long so why? Frantz snorted and rubbed his temples. Great, just fucking _great_.

A quiet cough relieved him of his inner turmoil and he glanced up to see Rose smiling at him and pointing to the door.  
"Angela's outside," she giggled, clutching her clipboard against her chest. "She's been pacing up and down the hallway for almost five minutes now. Do you want to see her?"

"Ah…" he thought about it, wondering if it was safe enough for the young girl to see him. _I don't know…but maybe if I _do _lose control, she'll stab me in the heart._ He grimaced, _No, there's no way she'd be able to do it…_ Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and nodded.

When Rose let her in and promptly left to give them some privacy, Angela did her best to smile. However, it quickly faded when she saw her friend.

"Your…eyes," she gasped quietly. "Why are they red?" She regarded him with an almost frightened look on her face. She walked closer to him, a hand reaching out to cup his face.

Frantz blinked before smacking her hand away, "W…what are you talking about?" He turned away from her, refusing to meet her eyes. "You probably need to get _your_ eyes checked." He peeked back and almost immediately wished he hadn't. Her face looked crestfallen and there were tears in her eyes that were threatening to fall. Her lips quivered a bit. "I…dammit Angela, don't cry." He reached out towards her, but she flinched and stepped backwards.

"I'm not crying! Who's crying? It's not me!" she protested, shaking her head furiously and blinking her tears away. Sniffling, she turned her heel and bolted out the door again.

He could only stare at the door like an idiot when Tude walked in the room, Natasha in tow.

"Smooth move, Kruger," he said.

* * *

**A/N: **Eugh, such a short chapter. I felt it necessary though so I guess it's ok like this.


	3. The Other Golden Seal Team

The Other Golden Seal Team

_Her face looked crestfallen and there were tears in her eyes that were threatening to fall. Her lips quivered a bit. "I…dammit Angela, don't cry." He reached out towards her, but she flinched and stepped backwards._

"_I'm not crying! Who's crying? It's not me!" she protested, shaking her head furiously and blinking her tears away. Sniffling, he turned her heel and bolted out the door again._

_He could only stare at the door like an idiot when Tude walked in the room, Natasha in tow. _

"_Smooth move, Kruger," he said._

* * *

"Hey there, buddy. You don't look so hot right now," Tude's smile reminded Frantz of a wolf eyeing his next meal. He sat down in the chair next to Frantz's bed, his hands tented in an almost pensive manner. "So, what's up with your eyes?"

Frantz stared blankly at him, before Natasha thrust a small compact mirror into his hands. Surprised, his gaze turned to her, but she only shrugged and indicated for him to look at himself. Taking a deep breath, he turned the mirror over and looked at his reflection.

The whole thing about vampires not being able to see themselves in mirror was bullshit and for that Frantz was thankful. His reflection stared back at him, the same face except for his eyes that burned red. With a jolt of surprise he flung the mirror away, Tude catching it before it could shatter against the wall.

"What's wrong with me?!"

Angela sighed and hugged her knees closer to her body. Maybe coming to the graveyard was a mistake after all. She had thought about a lot of things as she watched the night sky. Her friendship with Frantz, the war, her village in the forest, and finally, what will happen if Frantz did turn into a full-fledged vampire.

"I can't do it," she whispered and rested her chin on her knees before closing her eyes.

"Can't do what?" A feminine voice spoke, causing Angela to jerk in surprise. "Whoa, easy there. I'm not going to hurt you." Angela stared up at the young woman standing in front of her. Long grey hair flitted in the breeze, framing the woman's face in an almost-veil.

Angela stared at her, frozen. She continued staring at the girl for a few seconds more before she finally got her mouth working properly. "Ghosts aren't real!"

The 'ghost' laughed, "I'm not a ghost. I'm Roselle Vergerius, from the Golden Seal Team."

A moment of stunned silence was followed by an outraged _"WHAT?!"_

* * *

"Calm down, Frantz!" Natasha pleaded, trying to get the half-vampire back in bed, lest he reopen his wounds again.

"Calm down? _Calm down_?" Frantz looked scandalized as he paced the room. He ran a hand through his hair, his face scrunching up into the familiar scowl he always wore. "I'm not a vampire." He said finally before sinking back down onto his bed.

Tude raised an eyebrow at him as he rested his head on the back of his chair. "I've heard somewhere that when a vampire…ah…what was the word?" he scratched his chin. God he needed to shave. "_Fledgling_. Yeah that's the word. When a vampire fledgling's eyes turn red it means they are 'awakening'." His teammates looked at him in wonderment. "What?"

"Awakening? So does that mean Frantz is becoming a full-fledged vampire?" Natasha asked, subconsciously edging away from him.

"Yeah."

Sighing, Frantz concluded, "Someone has to tell Angela."

* * *

Roselle watched the girl in front of her, slightly amused. The red-head had gone from angry, to astonished and was now angry again.

"—ve the audacity to even tell us? What the hell!" Angela fumed. Finally she turned her attention back to Roselle. "You said your name was Roselle?"

"Yes." Roselle extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you Miss…?"

"Angela."

"Nice to meet you." Roselle smiled before almost falling over. "Oof!" Turning around, she picked up… "Leila! What have I told you about running into me?"

Angela stared at the little girl, who only giggled and stuck out her tongue. "Hee hee, sorry Big Sister. I was playing tag with Edgar."

Roselle sighed, "So that means he's running around here too?" she set the smaller girl down. "Stay here. I'm going to go find the others." She looked at Angela, "Do you mind watching her real quick?"

Angela shook her head. "As long as she doesn't bite, I'm ok with it." Nodding, Roselle quickly left, leaving the two girls in an almost awkward silence.

The little girl grinned up at Angela, "My name is Leila. What's yours?"

"Uhm…Angela Strraughend." Something about this girl seemed awfully familiar. "What's a little girl like you doing in the Golden Seal Team?"

Leila shrugged, "I go wherever Big Sister goes. And I'm not that little." She pouted, looking almost offended. "We've been travelling for a while actually. Met up with this little kid named Edgar. He's a pain sometimes. He keeps complaining about how unfair it is that his magic sword cursed him."

"Did you say magic sword?" Angela stared at her companion in surprise. Leila nodded. "That's…"

"He told me that he tried to steal it, so it cursed him."

"Cursed?"

"Mhm!" Leila beamed at Angela, showing off two _very pointy fangs._ "He told me he's really like…uhm…older than what he lo-"

Angela gasped, "You're a vampire!" The little vampiress only nodded. "Does that mean your sis…?"

"Yep! We're both vampires. Or uhm…well I guess not entirely? More like half-vampires." Leila giggled again and then stood up. "Sis is back!" She ran towards her sister who had come back, a young boy and another girl in tow. "Big sister!"

Roselle flashed Angela a grateful smile before kneeling down and hugging her sister. "Where you a good girl, Leila?"

She nodded enthusiastically before reaching out and grabbing the boy's hand. "Edgar! Come on, come on! Meet Angela!"

"Let go, pipsqueak!" the boy said, giving her a disgruntled glare and dusting off his clothes. "Why are you so _grabby_?" He paused his rant when he saw Angela. "You, ginger. Have we met before?"

"Ginger?" Angela smiled coldly. She pretended to clean out her ear, as if she hadn't heard him correctly. "Did you just call me _ginger_, squirt?" She stepped closer to him. It pleased her to see him cower away from her.

Swallowing nervously, he tilted his head up and with an almost cocky smirk said, "And if I did?" Next thing he knew, his back was against the tree, a giant sword not two inches away from his face.

"I'd take it back."

* * *

As this sober moment passed, Elma burst into the room, chest heaving. "Someone, do something before Angela goes crazy!"

All three stared blankly at her before she clarified, "Angela just attacked a member of the other Seal Team."

* * *

**A/N: **I might revise this sometime later on. Wheee~


	4. Farewell

**A/N: **Thanks to all who have waited patiently for this new chapter. As always, I do not own Rusty Hearts. Remember to read and review, or if by any chance, send Anacaria some love on EAST.

Farewell

Angela was furious. It was bad enough that that little twit in the Cathedral had called her a ginger, now a little…_twerp_ she had never even _seen_ before was calling her names. She had him backed up against the tree, her hands holding him up by his shirt.

"Say you're sorry," she ground out through gritted teeth. The kid just glared at her, his green eyes seemingly saying 'Piss off'. Maybe she should have taken this as a warning before she was blown away by a powerful kick to her mid-section.

Angela slid back a few feet, digging Gaestra into the dirt to balance her. Clutching her stomach she looked up to see a young woman in a scandalous dress standing before the boy, her hands and left leg raised, daring her to attack again.

Roselle rolled her eyes and marched over to the newcomer, giving her a light smack on the head. "That's enough Mei Lin, stand down." The other girl silently nodded and relaxed, moving away from the boy but keeping a wary eye on Angela.

The smaller Vergerius sister calmly stepped closer to Angela, daintily sniffing her, "Hmm…Sister, she smells like us." Angela's eyes widened in horror and she glared at the little girl. "No, I don't mean it's a _bad_ smell or anything!"

"Angela!"

Tude and Natasha ran in front of their friend, shielding her from the strangers. Natasha's hands reached for the revolvers holstered at her hips, fingers itching to pull them out. "Who are you and why are you attacking Angela?"

The oldest looking of the bunch, a scantily clad female, cleared their throat, "Ah, we're the other Seal team, and…" she hesitated, unsure what to say. Natasha raised an eyebrow as if to say 'and?' "It's a misunderstanding." She picked up the small boy by the scruff of his shirt and held him up, "He insulted your friend there…"

"Roselle! What are you doing?!" the boy protested at being treated so roughly. "Brat!"

"You might be cursed, little boy. That does not mean you are older than me," she hissed at him, before dropping him like a sack of potatoes. She dusted her hands, as if the brief contact with Edgar had dirtied them. "Again I apologize. Please do allow me to introduce my little group here. I'm Roselle," she pointed to herself. "My little sister Leila," the little girl gave a small curtsey, "Mei Lin Chen, master of martial arts." The other girl gave a small bow. "And…well…Edgar."

Edgar raised his hand before slapping a palm to his face, "I get no title?" He glared at Roselle before clearing his throat. "I'm Edgar, a magician."

Tude and Natasha stared at the group, Tude keeping his hands on Angela's shoulders lest she try to attack the boy again. They stayed like that for a bit, until Natasha gave a small cough to end the awkward silence.

"Ah…ahem, I see!" she said, clasping her gloved hands behind her back. "I'm Natasha, gun aficionado, and this is-"

"WHY ARE WE INTRODUCING OURSELVES?!" Angela yelled, wrenching herself free of Tude's grasp. "That little brat insulted me!"

"You actually hurt me," Edgar retorted, crossing his arms.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did n-!" Tude clicked his tongue and picked up Angela again, this time as if she was a small child. A rather large small child. "Tude!"

"That's enough missy." He held her a little higher, a wicked grin splaying across his face. "Want to fly, Angie?"

"Tude, no!" Natasha took a step forward, a second too late.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" And then the whole graveyard exploded in a giant flash of light.

* * *

Frantz felt, rather than heard, the explosion. He bolted straight up, cringing at the pain that shot through his stomach. "Ah…Ange…la?" He stood up, a little shaky at first but after a few steady breaths, he pulled himself upright. He staggered to rack near the door, where his coat and sword hung and quickly pulled them on. His eyes still burned like hell, but a feeling in his gut told him that he had to find Angela.

Opening the door, he stuck his head out and looked both ways, making sure that the coast was clear. Once he was sure, he stepped out into the hallway and tried to find his bearings. Closing his eyes, he listened carefully. The whole place was too quiet for his taste. Normally he'd relish in it but without Angela to bug him, it felt so empty and dead.

He eventually found the exit, after a few close calls with the soldiers and nurses. Gripping his sword even tighter, he ventured out to the barracks. A wave of nausea suddenly slammed into him, momentarily disorienting him. "Damn it!" He needed to find the others and fast.

* * *

Natasha coughed and gagged, trying to rid herself of the taste of smoke that had dared get into her mouth. "You went…_coughcoughhack_…a little too far Ang-_haaaack_-ela!" She glared at the redhead, whom was perched on the branch of a tree looking smug.

"Treating me like a kid and then calling me Angie, he deserved it," she stuck out her tongue. She stood up and placed a hand over her eyebrows, surveying the extent of her damage. "Tch, didn't take the kid out."

"Crazy ginger!" Edgar yelled, lowering his own sword. He had deflected most of the attack but a small cut below his left eye trickled blood steadily. He sighed wearily and muttered, "You sure are strong, gorilla girl."

_SMACK!_

"So sorry, Edgar-chan," Mei Lin giggled, bringing her leg down and dusting her dress off. "You were simply in my way." She winked at him before walking over to stand next to Roselle, whom looked a bit bored now.

"Your boobs were in the way!" he yelled, scowling. He turned around and held out his hand, "Come on Leila, its fine now."

The little girl happily bounced up into his arms, hugging him tightly, "I know that Miss Angela won't hurt us!"

Angela nearly fell out of the tree from laughing, "You're cute, little girl. I like you." Hopping down, she made her way to were Tude was lying down, very singed from her blow. She poked his corpse-like body, "Oi, doggy. It's time to wake up!"

Tude moaned in pain as he opened his eyes. "Cra...zy…" He coughed once more before slowly rising to his feet. Only to collapse flat on his ass. "Ugh, a little help would be nice?" He gazed expectantly at Natasha, who in turn clicked her tongue and grasped his forearm to pull him up. "Thanks…"

Natasha went towards the tree and placed her hands on her hips, "Come down Angela, we need to get back to Frantz. Now." When Angela refused, her temper flared and she reached for her guns. "Now or I'll shoot the branch out!" She clicked them, removing the safety. "You have until three! One! Two! Thr-" She felt the surrounding air shift and change and she froze.

Angela's eyes widened, and she leapt down the tree. She gracefully landed next to Natasha and slowly began making her way to the gates that lead to the barracks. "Fr…antz…?"


End file.
